Monday, January 07, 2008

The headline on one of those pieces about Hillary Clinton showing emotion. For months the media has fretted over her not showing emotion: Is she perhaps too cold, too callous, too ambitious? She was supposed to suffer from a "likeability" crisis.

So what happens when she shows some emotion, by tearing up? Oops:

How voters weigh Clinton's composure may not differ between genders, according to Georgetown's Owens.

"Male voters are basically going to see a hysterical woman," said Owens. "Women are going to think that if Clinton is going to take on this responsible role and represent women in such a visible way she should do a better job of it and not expose the gender to this criticism."

There ya go. Now could someone in the media write a piece about exactly how a female candidate may show emotion, when and where.